So good friend of GeneralsJoes, Toy News International landed in San Diego earlier today, and has uploaded images from the SDCC Preview Night of the G.I. Joe display. And as expected, so far there isn’t a whole lot of new stuff to talk about.
From all appearances, the display looks remarkably the same as the one we all saw at JoeCon a month or two ago (which shouldn’t really be a surprise).
I do believe we will hear a LOT of new information tomorrow during the Renegades panel, but for preview night, so far not a whole lot to get excited about. Hopefully as the weekend goes on, Hasbro will reveal some more toys or toy designs, and maybe even a Renegades figure or two.
Check out the gallery at TNI right here.
So, yeah, technically the actual event doesn’t kick off until tomorrow (check out the full schedule of G.I. Joe related events right here!) but tonight is “preview night” which often showcases some of the new toys and items of interest for the rest of the year. I’m not necessarily convinced we’ll see much new stuff in the way of little plastic men, but I know for a fact that Renegades mania is going to really get ramped up after tomorrow’s panel.
Of course, GeneralsJoes will work to provide you the absolute best coverage I possibly can, but I’m just one guy doing this for fun…so if you’re interested in keeping up to date on all of the latest news and intel, check out UGO.com’s coverage of Comic-con! Sure, they’ll be unravelling all of the G.I. Joe related news that comes out of the show, but they’ll also tackle Marvel, DC, images, interviews, Hollywood, and pretty much all of the cool stuff out of Comic-con.
Not only that, but starting today, UGO is also giving away Comic-con exclusives! Today they’ll be handing out various exclusives from G.I. Joe, Transformers, and the Marvel Universe, and all of the details can be found right here.
Starting tomorrow (July 22nd), they will have FIVE of the SDCC exclusive Galactus figures. Those details can be found here.
So even if you’re like me and stuck at home, thanks to UGO, Comic-con will come to you!
I personally cannot wait to see what’s on the horizon, not just for Joe stuff, but Marvel toys, Marvel animation, Transformers, and more great stuff from the geek world as it invades Hollywood and mainstream media. Gonna be a great long weekend!
Of course, I’m not the only one who got a set of Sgt. Slaughter’s last week, so other folks have started posting their own impressions, including GeneralsJoes contributor cmderinchief. Rather than do it in pictorial form, though, he fired up his EVO front-facing camera, and whipped up a YouTube video.
Check out the embedded video below!
Also, over on The Terror Drome, they’ve posted some additions to their Scoop’s Dark Room with both versions of Slaughter as well. Check them out right here!
The GeneralsJoes July Review-A-Rama continues on strong thanks to Hasbro’s Public Relations team… A nice surprise package in the mail late last week provided me with the two San Diego ComicCon Exclusive Sgt. Slaughters that are hitting lucky collectors this weekend at ComicCon.
I’ve reviewed them both and for lack of a better place, linked the review on the Pursuit of Cobra page. You can, of course, also check it out here.
The San Diego ComicCon has moved into a whole new stratosphere in recent years. Initially merely a large comic convention, it somehow migrated to a Geek Mecca where Hollywood, Comics, and Toy Companies collide to give us glimpses at what cool new things are on the horizon for our nerd pleasure. It is pretty astounding to see just what it has become.
Of course as part of the allure of ComicCon, there are the SDCC Exclusives…toys that are launched at SDCC and for sale initially only at SDCC. This has always created a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots” which has sometimes generated some hostility not just in the fandom, but directed back at the manufacturers. But Hasbro seems to have found a balance. By offering the items through SDCC, but also at HasbroToyShop, they seem to be able to please everyone, and in recent years there hasn’t been an obvious shortage of opportunities to get what you want.
This is not the case with Mattel, who year after year generates mountains of frustration among their fans with a strange voucher pre-order system that doesn’t even guarantee you a figure if you travel all the way to ComicCon. Not to mention when they post items for sale after the fact, MattyCollector.com gets so hammered that nobody can access the retail store. In general, it seems like a mammoth cluster… you get the idea.
Now not only does Hasbro seem to have the system at least somewhat ironed out, but the numbers of cool exclusives they are getting out there is amazing. Now, most of this is probably because they’re far and away the #1 Boys Toys brand in the market, but it really is incredible just how many cool toys they can get into collectors’ hands through SDCC. Anyone reading this right now already knows about Sgt. Slaughter:
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I mean, look at this figure! Sure there are complaints about the lack of musculature and the placement of the torso joint/USA logo (which I can certainly appreciate) but there is a metric ton of new tooling, great accessories, and even new points of articulation. Any long time fan who has been clamoring for Slaughter is gonna be loving this.
And while I haven’t been keeping up with the Marvel stuff as much as I’d like to, I can’t help but drool at what Hasbro has there as well:
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Before I go on…let me say one thing. Yes that is a TWO FOOT FREAKING TALL CARDED ACTION FIGURE. How awesome is that? Not to mention the bad ass WW II Captain America and an impressive Thor figure to tie into the upcoming movie as well.
Hell, even Star Wars has my interest this year!
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Bet you thought Darth Maul was dead, eh? Hell, I’m an uber-geek and even I thought Darth Maul was dead. What the hell is this? It’s Darth frikken Maul with cyborg horse legs. ROCK.
So yeah…for G.I. Joe fans or for toy fans, Hasbro has got it going on this year. Maybe one day I’ll make it to SDCC…but until then I’ll sit back and enjoy it vicariously through the hundreds of thousands of others. Can’t wait to hear what’s on the horizon!
When Hunter PR rep Joe Moscone reported on his Twitter page last night that Hasbro’s SDCC exclusives would be featured on Attack of the Show, I was hoping the video would show up online since I don’t get G4 with my local cable package. Thankfully g4tv.com came through!
They visited Hasbro’s Rhode Island headquarters and give us the scoop on the wide array of goodies Hasbro will have available at SDCC…and yes, the Sarge is front and center. Check out the embedded video below.
